Dungeon Raider System

"I'm so pissed off." Uriel grunted on his way to the Pegasus, though no one replied as they were all bummed just like him.

Their home city that should have felt familiar and yet it didn't was the same as any megacity, with the same products from the same companies, the same advertising, the same shops and although the skyscrapers were different to each other, it was impossible to differentiate them from ground level making them look the same as all the rest.

"I'm so pissed off." Uriel grunted again, this time Medusa changed the subject to prevent Uriel's moodiness from spreading.

"So, how did the L.U.N.A. work?"

"It did work." Luna replied.

"I'm going to need a little bit more than that," Medusa explained knowing that Luna needed some additional input to reply properly. "think of it as if you were asking me about a cryptid's features. I always try to depict it as accurately as possible and the same applies to my thoughts and experiences about it."

"Flying was the best thing I have ever experienced in my life, it made me so happy. I couldn't wait to land in the middle of the battlefield and join the fight."

"Then why do you sound so sad?" Despite Luna's monotone, Medusa was still able to identify her tone.

"Because I did join the fight, then I troubled everyone, not to mention I appeared on camera for everyone to see and now people are giving me weird looks."

"It's not because of what happened, it's just that... you know what, nevermind." Nika wanted to explain to Luna that the reason people looked at her was because of the V cut shirt she was wearing and no one bothered to even look at her face, but then decided not to explain. Not because it was awkward, but because seeing her 'dolled up' was a rare occasion.

"I'm so pissed off!" Uriel huffed once more and then everyone fell silent until they reached the Pegasus where Soulfire awaited for the good news.

"I saw everything on TV, I'm so glad you're alright, Luna." He said as he leaned in for a hug and much to everyone's surprise, Luna let him.

"Thank you. I need rest, bye." She said as she retreated to her room.

"That is so unfair!" Said Miss Dragonfang biting the tip of her thumb in frustration. To say she had a crush on Soulfire would be an understatement, but unfortunately to her, she also had the Dungeon Raiders' equivalent to a restraining order. If she came too close to him or interacted with him in any way, she would be kicked out of the ship and forced to remain in New Texas as the new branch supervisor. It was a promotion that also came with a huge paycheck, but without her friend Phlox, it sounded akin to a death sentence.

Soulfire skimmed through the piece of paper Uriel handed him which contained a detailed list of all the artifacts she had yet to use for her research. Many of his artifacts had already been destroyed, but there were some others that made his eyes glimmer in excitement.

"You got her to give you all of these!?" Soulfire exclaimed in joy.

"No, she said we could get some artifacts if we participated on an event... and win."

"He's been pissy about it all day." Nika chuckled.

"What kind of event and can I participate too?" Soulfire said.

"Apparently, anyone can participate as long as they're heavenly rank. It's a tournament. She twisted my arm into participating on behalf of the city which should be fine but there's one small detail."

"Artifacts are not allowed in the fights because the fights are going to be broadcasted all over the world. Most people do not know about orichalcum, let alone items that can be activated with flux energy." Medusa explained.

"And he's also pissy because he does not know how to fight without his weapons." Nika chuckled, this time there was a hint of nervousness in the gesture. She wanted to make fun of Uriel, but him losing also meant the entire company losing.

"It's not that, alright!? What bothers me is that Tina took the same lectures I did with Professor Pangeotis and she did not even show any remorse when she claimed she destroyed over a thousand artifacts during her research. In fact, she made it sound like a brag. Those artifacts can never be recovered and I don't care what kind of weapon she built, it won't have the same sentimental value it did to their past owners or to history!" Uriel finally snapped with bloodshot eyes and all.

Not throwing himself at the governor's throat when she mentioned destroying artifacts so casually had been one of the most difficult things for Uriel. The worst part was that, even if she acquired said artifacts with shady deeds and schemes, they were still in her possession and there was nothing he could do to stop her.

"Then you are in trouble, my friend," Soulfire nodded. "how many artifacts are you allowed to take if you win?"

"That hasn't been cleared yet, I think there will be prizes handed to everyone who participates, but the winner gets to pick their reward. Are there some artifacts in this list you can use to help me?"

"Well, my shinto bead necklace is on the list, but my rosary is not which is unfortunate because I'll need one of those. My voodoo skull doesn't appear on the list either, but I can do with any voodoo artifact you may encounter, it doesn't even need to be on this list. However, there's a few items here that intrigue me. Particularly this one." Soulfire pointed at an artifact that had no details about it, just the name.

"What's a miserere?" Asked Uriel with curiosity.

"I don't know, that's why it intrigues me." Soulfire shrugged, but Nika's face paled.

"Oh boy... that's a nasty one."

"So what is a miserere?" Uriel prompted Nika to speak, which she did not do until after she put on her glasses and adopted a demeanor much similar to that of Uriel's whenever she went on a rant about archaeology.

"It is not a miserere, it is 'The miserere'. According to my research, it is a prayer for mercy and forgiveness based on a psalm, but this specific one has been reputed widely as nothing but a legend." Nika adjusted her glasses.

"How do you even know this?" Uriel asked dumbfounded, but Nika carried on with her explanation.

"One of the reasons why it's existence has been refuted by many is because no one knows who the music who composed it is, but that is related to the story of this piece's origin, which you will understand after you hear it." Nika's know it all tone matched that of Uriel's when he spoke about archaeology. It was obviously an attempt of mockery, but rather than causing laughter everyone present became invested in her story.

"Around two hundred years ago a musician became obsessed with composing the perfect master piece, a musical piece that could move everyone. A plea for forgiveness so masterful, so beautiful, it could convince even god." Nika continued.

"So, it's basically a get out of jail free card." Uriel nodded.

"Yes, but whether or not it was accomplished is not confirmed because of what happened. You see, in his attempt to compose the most perfect piece he visited a monastery, a haunted one where the monks had suffered a tragic death. Why is it haunted you ask? Because on holy thursday the monks allegedly rise up from their graves to sing a miserere and apparently, this musician wanted to hear it and write it down to compose his piece. According to the legend, the monks did show up and the spectral choir presented before him the most beautiful piece a human mind can comprehend, but there was a price to pay."

"Isn't there always?" Uriel scoffed.

"When he returned to his aisle in the monastery, he worked on his project to the best of his ability, but the otherwordly music was impossible to transcribe. Every attempt at doing so finished in failure and he could not sleep or drink until he died. That would have been bad, but the same thing happening to the monks who lived in that place was what made it worse. Rumor has it, a demon heard of this musician's attempt to write down the miserere and visited the monastery to kill him and everyone who knew about it." Nika finished her recount when she noticed a strange expression growing on Uriel's face. It was nothing she had ever seen before and could not tell if he was being patronizing, mocking or maybe even admiration, but her doubt would soon be cleared when he spoke.

"Nika... we visited that monastery. We were there!"

"Oh, that's cool." Nika said.

"It's not, really. Do you remember who also happened to be at that same monastery? The defenders were there. They probably found the miserere in that place, but it's how did Tina got her hands on it what worries me."